Aug 2, 2013:

Journey Completed

Distance to Date: 25,089 km / 15,555 mi

From Tok, we rode to Fairbanks where we resupplied for the final push to Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay. Well, unfortunately, after 19 months on the road, the bike gave way. Derailleur cable snapped (we were able to replace this), then a couple of spokes on the freewheel side broke, then the chain, and the chain breaker was missing a critical part, etc... Things were not good.

Being so close to the end with no bike shop (or anything!) around, we decided to hitch and shuttle to get to Deadhorse. And we got there! It really is true that getting from A to B is not necessarily the journey, it's the "everything else" in between! This was certainly true for us.

From up there, we first hitched in a truck and then with an Ice Road Trucker (who prefers to refer to himself as a "Haul Road Trucker" -- thanks, Andy!). So we are back in Fairbanks.

But wait, there's more! Stay tuned. There's going to be an epilogue. We're planning to donate the tandem bike to Access Alaska here in Fairbanks, fly to Southern California, get single bikes (since Christi can now ride a bike), and ride back to Phoenix.